California is suing Big Oil, accusing them of climate change ‘deception’
Good morning. It’s Monday, Sept. 18. Here’s what you need to know to start your day.
- The state takes on the oil industry with an ambitious lawsuit
- Los Angeles could establish an independent redistricting commission
- The man behind the world’s best restaurant
- And here’s today’s e-newspaper
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
California is suing Big Oil, accusing them of climate change ‘deception’
California is no stranger to fighting climate change with legal battles. But late last week, state officials announced a truly heavyweight match.
Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta has filed a lawsuit against five major oil companies and their trade association, alleging their involvement in “a decades-long campaign of deception and creating statewide climate change-related harms in California.”
Bonta said Exxon Mobil, Shell, Chevron, ConocoPhillips and BP — along with the American Petroleum Institute (API) — have long known “that the burning of fossil fuels leads to climate change — but have fed us lies and mistruths to further their record-breaking profits at the expense of our environment.”
“Enough is enough,” Bonta said in a statement. “With our lawsuit, California becomes the largest geographic area and the largest economy to take these giant oil companies to court.”
The 135-page complaint presents several pieces of evidence the state says points to oil companies’ longtime understanding of the effect their products have on the environment.
The suit notes API received a report on environmental pollutants from the Stanford Research Institute in 1968, which stated: “Significant temperature changes are almost certain to occur by the year 2000, and ... there seems to be no doubt that the potential damage to our environment could be severe.”
In response to that and other scientific evidence linking fossil fuels to global warming, Big Oil orchestrated disinformation campaigns, the state alleges, “to plant doubt about the reality of climate change in an effort to maintain consumer demand for their fossil fuel products and their large profits.”
What is California hoping to accomplish with the lawsuit? As Times staff writer Louis Sahagún reported:
“Bonta is seeking to create a nuisance abatement fund to finance climate mitigation and adaptation efforts; injunctive relief to protect California’s natural resources from pollution, impairment and destruction; and to prevent the companies from making any further false or misleading statements about the contribution of fossil fuel combustion to climate change.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom called out Big Oil in a statement for “decades of damage and deception.”
“Wildfires wiping out entire communities, toxic smoke clogging our air, deadly heat waves, record-breaking droughts parching our wells,” he said. “California taxpayers shouldn’t have to foot the bill.”
In a statement, API Senior Vice President and General Counsel Ryan Meyers called the state’s complaint “a distraction … and an enormous waste of California taxpayer resources.”
“Climate policy is for Congress to debate and decide,” he said, “not the court system.”
Sahagun notes that a “growing number of high-profile cases in state court helped pave the way” for this major legal action from Bonta, including the $246-billion settlement with the tobacco industry in 1998 and a $350-million settlement with manufacturers of lead paint in 2019.
As for how much money state officials are seeking from Big Oil, that’s to be determined for now.
Bonta told The Times: “It is going to be a very, very large number.”
Today’s top stories
Our environment
- A coalition of environmental organizations has accused Southern California air regulators of allowing heavy emitters of smog-forming pollution to avoid hundreds of millions of dollars in federally mandated financial penalties.
- Federal and international officials this week issued dire warnings about record-setting temperatures and the worsening effects of climate change as data show last month was Earth’s warmest August on record.
- For San Bernardino Mountains conservationists, the signs are all too clear: Big Bear Valley has a problem — a wild burros problem.
Legislative roundup
- The city of Los Angeles could be forced to establish an independent redistricting commission through two overlapping bills approved by state lawmakers last week.
- The union energy that has fueled strikes by actors, writers and hotel workers this summer hit Sacramento’s corridors of power this year, with a remarkable run of wins for organized labor in the final days of the session.
More big stories
- In a blunder that very nearly paralyzed operations throughout the Smith River Complex fire, scores of firefighting vehicles were filled with the wrong type of fuel.
- Border Patrol is leaving migrants stranded in San Diego as shelters reach capacity.
- A Los Angeles County sheriff‘s deputy was ambushed and killed Saturday night while sitting in his patrol cruiser in front of the Palmdale station.
- Dodgers clinched their 10th National League West title in 11 years Saturday: ‘We were expecting to do this.’
- Comedian and actor Russell Brand has been accused of rape, sexual assault and other abusive behavior during the height of his Hollywood fame.
- Barabak: I traveled to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s California congressional district. Here’s what voters say about impeaching Biden.
- For months, University of California President Michael V. Drake has been unnerved by a series of security threats. The UC Board of Regents is struggling to respond.
- Two of President Biden‘s top goals — fighting climate change and supporting unions — are colliding as the United Auto Workers goes on strike against car companies.
- DirecTV and Nexstar Media Group have agreed to restore Nexstar’s broadcast station signals to DirecTV customer homes — ending a nationwide blackout of stations including ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC and CW network affiliates.
Get unlimited access to the Los Angeles Times. Subscribe here.
Commentary and opinions
- Opinion: I’m the Black owner of a California cannabis company. Here’s why there aren’t many others.
- Opinion: Rural California isn’t what you think it is. Misperceptions are holding us all back.
- Gustavo Arellano: We need immigrants more than ever. They keep hope in this country alive.
Today’s great reads
His restaurant was named No. 1 in the world. Why that’s not enough for Virgilio Martinez. He achieved the pinnacle of his profession when his Lima spot Central topped the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list in a country often ignored by Michelin. But it’s not enough.
Other great reads
- Drew Barrymore spent years building her brand. Without writers, it unraveled in a week.
How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com.
For your downtime
Going out
- 🦩 Filmmaker John Waters’ trash has become the Academy museum’s treasure. Check out the new exhibit.
- 🤖 AI is no match for humanity’s strength in this new Latino sci-fi film. Get tickets to a screening.
- 🌷 Garden walks and lots of cooking: see how the founder of kitchen gear company Hedley & Bennett spends her Sunday.
- 🌆 51 rooftop restaurants and bars in L.A. to soak in the best city views.
Staying in
- 👨🚀 How the true story of astronaut José Hernández became ‘A Million Miles Away,’ now streaming.
- 🥗 Here are some big salad recipes for easy weeknight dinners.
- ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and arcade games.
And finally ... a great photo
Show us your favorite place in California! Send us photos you have taken of spots in California that are special — natural or human-made — and tell us why they’re important to you.
Today’s great photo is from Catherine Paez of Signal Hill: L.A.’s Walt Disney Concert Hall. Catherine writes: “Walt Disney Concert Hall is my favorite building in Los Angeles. Gracefully fluid architecture like the music it contains. It always looks different depending on the sky’s lighting conditions. I’m very proud of it.”
Have a great day, from the Essential California team
Ryan Fonseca, reporter
Laura Blasey, assistant editor
Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on latimes.com.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
